Shipping News: Passenger ship, cruise news and shipping reports from around the world

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SHIPPING NEWS September and October 2005

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DESTINY's Refit
October 31: Carnival Cruise Lines' 1996-built CARNIVAL DESTINY completed a 21-day dry dock in Freeport, Bahamas and returned to regular scheduled year-round seven-day southern Caribbean cruises from San Juan. Renovations included new passenger areas, a renovated Lido restaurant and children's pool, a redesigned casino, and updated suites.

P&O Take Over Rumours See Stock Soar
October 31: The press is buzzing with the news that P&O has been contacted by Dubai Ports World, the state-owned port operator in Dubai, interested in buying all or part of the British ports and ferries group in what could be a US$5.3 billion deal. Shares in Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. surged 30 percent today on the news. DPW and P&O made no comment. P&O has seen a drop in passenger numbers on ferries in competition from low-cost airlines. P&O has reduced its number of ships from 31 to 23 in recent years and sold its 25 percent stake in P&O Nedlloyd. P&O also owns 27 container terminals around the world. (P&O should not to be confused with P&O Cruises, owned by Carnival Corporation).

New Durban-Based Cruises Offered
October 31: Indian Ocean Cruises begins service from Durban, South Africa, with the diminutive 1960-built MV MADAGASCAR (ex BREMERHAVEN, STELLA MARIS II, VIKING BORDEAUX). After a lengthy positioning voyage from Odessa, Ukraine, the yacht-like 2,683 gross ton ship arrived in Durban on October 29. With the hull gleaming from new paint, the first cruise is billed as a Guy Fawkes one night cruise sailing November 5, to view the Durban seafront. The fireworks will be followed by a week of one night cruises before more varied itineraries are offered.

New Star In The Gulf
October 30: A ceremony was held tonight to mark the maiden call at Bahrain of the ORIENT QUEEN (ex STARWARD, BOLERO). Billed as the only luxury passenger ship based in The Gulf, the refitted and well appointed 1968-built former Kloster cruise ship is now operated by Lebanon-based Abou Merhi Cruises. There will be two round trips between Dubai and Oman, Qatar and Bahrain every week with plans to add Kuwait.

Ship Fills 58 Year Gap
October 30: The US government yesterday approved a loan guarantee to allow a Hawaii company to move forward on plans to organize an interisland ferry service starting April 2007. Under the agreement, the government will guarantee 78.5 percent of the estimated $178 million cost of building two high-speed passenger and vehicle ferries to be used between Honolulu and Maui, Kauai and the Big Island. The first of the two vessels, with capacity for up to 866 passengers and 282 cars, is being built by Austal USA in Mobile, AL. The first of the 345-foot (105-meter), catamaran-type rollon/roll-off ferries is expected to arrive in Honolulu in early 2007. Currently, barge service provides the only interisland water link. The second ship will follow in 2009.

To put this into historical perspective, Hawaii (said to be the only large archipelago without a ferry service) saw the final sailing of the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Co's 1929-built HUALALAI in July 1949.

Old Cunarder Towed
October 29: News from Taiwan has the recently sold 1956-built CHINA SEA DISCOVERY (ex CARINTHIA, FAIRLAND, FAIRSEA, FAIR PRINCESS), under tow to India. CHINA SEA DISCOVERY is the last surviving member of Cunard's SAXONIA quartet built for Liverpool to Canada service and had been under arrest at Kaohsiung prior to auction to Indian scrap merchants. Her last operators, China Sea Cruises, bought her in 2000. Briefly offering overnight cruises from Hong Kong and Kaohsiung, she was soon laid up and abandoned.

FEMA Shifts Ship
October 29: Carnival Cruise Line's HOLIDAY, housing about 1,300 Hurricane Katrina evacuees, left Mobile, AL, today for Pascagoula, MI according to Federal Emergency Management Agency officials, who had delayed the anticipated relocation for some weeks. The move (some 35 miles to the southwest) brings many evacuees closer to home, work and schools, while some Mobile city leaders expressed concern over a loss of business to local companies serving the ship.

Port of Cozumel Off The Itinerary
October 26: Hurricane Wilma dealt a fatal blow to Cozumel's cruise industry. The docks suffered severe damage and may take months to repair, with some quays split and others entirley missing. The island, just south of Cancun, Mexico, is visited most frequently by Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International, and is also popular with divers. The island's three docks normally receive about three million passengers each year. Carnival Cruise Lines features Cozumel as a destination for 14 of its ships and Holland America also stops there. One of Cozumel's docks is actually owned by Carnival, who have flown in a team to evaluate the damage. Cozumel's municipal dock remains in operation and is being used to ferry passengers to Playa del Carmen on the mainland.

AIDA's New Trio Begins
October 25: Shipbuilder Meyer Werft reports the beginning of the construction of the first "club ship" for German cruise operator AIDA Cruises in Papenburg today. President of AIDA Cruises, Michael Thamm pressed the start button of the computer-controlled cutting machine to fabricate the first steel plates. The unnamed ship will be delivered in the spring of 2007. She will be the first in a series of three vessels with a length overall of 252�meters, a breadth of 32.2 metrers and a tonnage of 68,500�gt. and her operating speed will be over 21�knots. 2,030�passengers will be accommodated in 1,015�cabins. The next two ships will be delivered in the spring of 2008 and in the spring of 2009.

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Florida Cruise Disruption
October 25: The Ports of Miami, Port Everglades and Tampa were closed through Monday as Hurricane Wilma crossed Florida, forcing cruise lines to alter their departures and itineraries. Royal Caribbean's ENCHANTMENT OF THE SEAS, MARINER OF THE SEAS, MAJESTY OF THE SEAS AND SOVEREIGN OF THE SEAS had to sail on October 25th, one day behind schedule. �RHAPSODY OF THE SEAS will likely have her itinerary adjusted, also. Carnival Cruise Lines was forced to make changes to five ships' itineraries, affecting: CARNIVAL GLORY, CARNIVAL MIRACLE, CARNIVAL VICTORY, CELEBRATION and ELATION. NCL had to adjust schedules for NORWEGIAN DREAM and NORWEGIAN SUN to avoid the storm.

MUSICA Floats
October 22: MSC MUSICA, the latest addition to the MSC Cruises fleet, was floated out at Chantiers de l' Atlantique on October 15 and moved to the Penhoet dock for fitting out. The delivery of what will be MSC's flagship is scheduled for June 2006. The dark blue funnel (weighing 65 tonnes, 60 meters in circumference, and 11 meters high) has been positioned. It�employed an innovative construction technique, resulting in a perfectly smooth exterior. On July 1, 2006, MUSICA will begin her summer cruise program, sailing from Venice on a weekly Saturday service. The Panamax constructed ship will have 1,300 staterooms, 80% of them exterior cabins, and 65% with balconies.

Virgin Cruise?
October 22: British Billionaire Sir Richard Branson (of Virgin Atlantic Airlines and Virgin Trains, and more recently, space tourism) is considering potential partners for a possible cruise ship joint venture while visiting Florida. Any decision is months away, according to a spokesperson, but Florida and the Caribbean were being discussed for a model similar to that of his airline. Branson told reporters, "It would be more towards something quite special rather than something at the lower end of the market."

MONTEREY To The Gulf Coast?
October 22: In the wake of Hurricane Rita, the city of Lake Charles, Louisiana has been working with state governor Kathleen Blanco to bring a cruise ship up river to the lake area to house hundreds left homeless after the storm damage. Could this be why MSC's 1952-built MONTEREY (ex PINE TREE MARINER) is now reported to be headed to the US Gulf Coast from Italy? Originally a cargo ship, she and her sister were bought by Matson Line in 1955 and rebuilt as passenger ships for South Pacific service. Pacific Far East Lines bought the ships in 1970, and in 1989, MONTEREY was purchased by StarLauro Crociere and later passed to MSC in 1995. It was reported that the elderly ship would no longer sail under the MSC banner after the charter ends. Speculation has her possibly chartered for cruising from Durban, South Africa in April or May 2006.

Disenchanted Beach
October 18: Peter Knego reports from his recent visit to Alang:

RITA (ex WINDSOR CASTLE, MARGARITA L) has been cut back on either side to the base of her superstructure, leaving a vertical slice of accommodation that extends from the now exposed ruins of the first class dining room toward what is left of her forepeak. Her stern is gone, with an abrupt cut from the aft docking wings stretching down to the muddy embankment. A few strips of linoleum is all that is left of what was once the tourist class children's playroom, which has recently been toppled. Both sections of the ship on either side of the aft docking wing were cut free and dropped into the sea during my visit. During my three or so hours on board I witnessed the teak planks from the port side boat deck being wrenched free as well as the paneling in the tourist class verandah being pried off with crow bars. From the wheelhouse down to the tourist class accommodation, all of the public areas are practically unrecognizable. Chunks of insulation hang from the skeletal ceilings and most of the divisions between the public rooms and cabins are long gone. In the bridge, all windows are missing and some of the instrument panels were in a pile awaiting removal and most likely melting down (thanks to the breaker's exorbitant rates). In the open stretch of waterlogged space that housed the former first class suites, we found a UCL passenger ticket and a black and white postcard of WINDSOR CASTLE, not particularly rare mementos, but poignant that they showed up after all their years in hiding. The cinema was untouched and the tourist dining room was still structurally complete, although filled with panels from other areas quite stupidly piled up against the Sidney Smith painting which has yet to be removed (and which will hopefully not suffer the fate of the Camelopardalis ceiling from the tourist rotunda, which was in waterlogged fragments on the deck below). All in all a very depressing scenario from what should have been a preserved ocean liner to be enjoyed by future generations. With most of her innards gutted, I suspect that RITA will disappear rapidly over the next few months. I wish her peace in the afterlife and may she be enjoyed there a complement of dearly departed and appreciative past passengers and crew.

The BIG RED BOAT 2 (ex EUGENIO C, EUGENIO COSTA, SS THE BIG RED BOAT 2) is still stuck far out on the rocks. Winching since June has only brought her another 500 or so feet closer to shore. Her lovely swan's neck bow is quite broken, leaving a stump above the bulbous forefoot and bow thruster, enough to be used to drag the rest of her magnificently sculpted form closer to the cutters. The semicircular superstructure towers over the bow stump quite majestically, but it will surely begin to disappear when the fittings are removed from the bridge down to the suites (named for Ligurian villages) and Fuzzy Wuzzy's (once EUGENIO C's spectacular Ambra Lounge). Her obtuse pools are now filled with mucky green water and most of the teak from her afterdecks has been removed. Her cruiser spoon-upon-sponson stern was cut off in the weeks prior to my visit. I witnessed a pontoon full of her cinema seats being offloaded along with many of her Zoncada chairs and a good deal of the Premier fittings. Most of the cabins are still intact, but the public rooms are being cleared out systematically. There was a poignant moment as the sun's golden hue shined through the full length portside promenade windows and a shy young Indian worker took a break from his gloomy tasks to reverently touch the keys of a white baby grand piano for the first time. Man's hands can create and destroy, or so the theme would go. Our journey back from the ship was nothing short of adventurous. The pontoon lurched a few times, then stopped cold just off the anchor chain. It was twilight and the cutter's torches on the neighboring RICKY (ex KONG FREDERICK) were doing their best to reduce her few remaining bits to flat plates. The accompanying crew grew ominously silent as it was feared the cable to the pontoon might have snapped, leaving us stranded in the sea until the morning low tide. Moments later, everyone sighed as the lurching toward the beach began again, only to eventually stop far short again. It heaved one further time, leaving us close enough to the mud to hop into the shallow sea and walk ashore covered in murk. Due to her grounding far from the beach, I predict it will be a long and costly process for her breakers to finish their job of demolishing her.

Meanwhile, at their other yard, the OCEAN EXPLORER I's (ex GENERAL W.P. RICHARDSON, LA GUARDIA, LEILANI, PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT, ATLANTIS, EMERALD SEAS, SAPPHIRE SEAS, etc.) tortured aft superstructure and funnel still tower over the beach. Her demo process has been stalled presumably to allow steel prices to increase once again. With a virtually empty beach, the authorities have probably not pressured the breaker to finish the job in a timely manner since there is such a glut of available tonnage. She has been at Alang for the greater part of a year.

The twin ferries BEAUPORT (ex PRINCE OF FUNDY) and EXPRESS POSEIDON (ex SAINT PATRICK) lay side by side at Sosiya. The POSEIDON is well in the process of destruction with her forward superstructure on the beach, while the blue and gold hulled BEAUPORT looks ready for another sailing.

EL SAFA, originally the 1972-built SVEA REGINA (later REGINA, MEDITERRANEAN SUN, ODYSSEAS ELYTIS, SCANDINAVIAN SKY, TALLINK, MAMA TANZANIA, ELTOR, MONTE CARLO) had beached next to a South American ro/ro named ROLIN. Permission to visit was granted by her friendly agent, but time constraints and a very precarious ladder prevented us from boarding.

Since my last visit in June, the final remnants of PRINCESA CYPRIA (ex PRINSESSE MARGRETHE) have since vanished. - Peter Knego

Suez Passenger Ship Collision
October 17: AL SALAM 95 (ex FREE ENTERPRIZE VI, PRIDE OF SANDWICH, PRIDE OF AILSA, PRIDE OF AL SALAM 95), an Egyptian passenger ship carrying 1,466 passengers, mostly Egyptian Muslim pilgrims returning from Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, collided with a Cypriot cargo ship after dark today. The collision happened at the southern entrance of the Suez Canal, near Port Tawfiq, about 80 miles east of the Egyptian capital, Cairo. 100 Egyptians were reported injured, with two fatalities, all the passngers were taken off in 12 rescue boats. The Cypriot cargo ship was entering the Red Sea and rammed the passenger vessel as it waited to enter the port of Suez. The forceful collision tore a 16-foot hole in the hull causing flooding in to the engine room. The 1972-built former Townsend Thoresen sank three hour later.

SERENADEd By SYMPHONY
October 17: Aker Yards and Silja Oy Ab announced today that they have have signed a contract for modernizing both the 1990-built SILJA SERENADE and 1991-built SILJA SYMPHONY passenger-car ferries. The twin 58,000 gt Helsinki to Stockholm vessels will sail to the Turku repair yard in January-February 2006. The project will be managed by Aker Finnyards Lifecycle services.

WASA QUEEN Rescue
October 17: Star Cruises' 1980-built WASA QUEEN, (ex EUROSUN, ORIENT EXPRESS, EUROSUN, ORIENT EXPRESS, CLUB SEA, ORIENT EXPRESS, SILJA STAR, BORE STAR) was involved in the rescue of crew from a fishing boat in distress today. The Hong Kong Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre requested WASA QUEEN (which was sailing in the vicinity of the sinking vessel) to assist in the search for six crew members. Shortly after midnight, debris was sighted and all six crew were rescued and given medical attention on board before the ship arrived at Hong Kong this morning.

Kvaerner Renamed
October 13: The Kvaerner Philadelphia Shipyard was renamed Aker Philadelphia Shipyard today. The facility, built on the site of the former Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, is currently completing its fourth container cargo ship for Matson Navigation Co. of Honolulu and is working on the first of 10 tankers it will charter to Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. of New York under a $1 billion deal announced earlier this year. The name change has been expected since Norwegian entrepreneur Kjell Inge R�kke took control of the yard's parent company, Kvaerner A.S.A.

New Residential Liner Ordered
October 13: Orphalese Global Strategies Inc., has announced a new order for a residential ship. The vessel, according to the press releas from Orphalese Global Strategies has been designed by Aker Finnyards, and will be completed in 2008. To be named ORPHALESE (named after a mythical city), the ship will comprise of 200 private permanent residences, and 265 suites for cruise passengers. Furnished residences ranging from US$1.8 million to US$10 million will be marketed from December 2005. (This order does not appear on Akers Newbuildings list)

Cunard's World Cruises
October 12: 2007 marks the 85th anniversary of the first world cruise by Cunard's LACONIA's in 1922, and the Silver Jubilee circumnavigation by QUEEN ELIZABETH 2. To celebrate these anniversaries, QE2 and QM2 will embark on simultaneous world voyages. For QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 this will mark her 25th trip around the world. For QUEEN MARY 2 it will be her maiden world cruise. Both ships will sail from Fort Lauderdale, Florida on January 10, 2007. QM2 will complete the cruise in 80 days, while for QE2 a longer 108-day itinerary is scheduled. The ships will meet up once more in Sydney, Australia February 20, 2007.

Fast Ferries For Lakshadweep
October 11: A new high speed catamaran passenger service, employing three new vessels, is set to start in March 2007. Designed by BMT Nigel Gee and Associates Ltd, a subsidiary of BMT Ltd, for the Shipping Corporation of India, the three ferries will be built by Penguin Shipyards International Pte Ltd., in Singapore. At 35-meters in length they will operate a 25-knot service carrying 154 passengers each between the islands that form the Union Territory of Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea to the South-West of India.

Longest Pier Devastated By Fire
October 9: The longest (1.34 miles/2.16 km) pleasure pier in the world, Southend Pier in Essex, UK is ablaze. The fire appeared to have started in a pub late on Sunday night and flames were subsequently seen shooting 30 - 40 feet in the air. At the end of the structure, which opened in 1889 (with extensions added in 1989, 1908, and 1929), there are a number of buildings, including the pub, restaurants and a newly-constructed lifeboat station. Fire fighters continue to battle the blaze and there are no reports of injuries or missing persons.

Preserved Ships List Updated
October 8: Maritime Matters has updated the Preserved Ships page. Click on the link for a revised list of links to preserved vessels around the world, with ten new ships linked in US locations.

HOLIDAY Fills, Remains in Mobile
October 8: Three weeks after hurricane evacuees took up residence on the FEMA-chartered cruise ship HOLIDAY in Mobile, Alabama, plans to move the ship to Mississippi remain on hold. Reports say that about 1400 people, mostly Mississippians, are living on HOLIDAY. A FEMA spokesperson said that the ship will ultimately move to the Mississippi coast, but repairs to the Pascagoula terminal must be completed before the vessel can dock there.

Annual International Ship Show, London
October 8: The Ocean Liner Society will hold their Annual International Ship Show 2005, on Sunday October 16 at The Royal National Hotel, Woburn Place, Bloomsbury London, WC1H OJX. From 10.00 am - 4.00 pm. Trade stands will consist of international exhibitors with a wide range of merchandise including: Paintings, pictures, photographs, post cards, books, collectible brochures and publicity material, ocean liner memorabilia and souvenirs. Additionally, a lecture program will be offered. For more information contact www.ocean-liner-society.com

Meyer Werft Lays New NCL Block
October 5: Inside Meyer Werft's covered building dock at Papenburg, Germany the first block of Norwegian Cruise Line's new 93,000-gt cruise vessel was put in place. Observing an old tradition, Bill Hamlin, Executive Vice President, Fleet Operations for Norwegian Cruise Line, laid the traditional "lucky penny", before the block was lowered by an 800-ton crane. Today's block, the first of 67, weighs over 350 tons. The new ship, known only as "S.669", for delivery spring 2007, is the third of four new ships being built for NCL. The new Panamax vessel design is faster than other ships of this size. The ship's length will be 294.13�m x 32.2�m, (965 ft x 105 ft) and will have a service speed of 25�knots with 2,384�passengers in 1,188�cabins.

Cook Strait Gets New Ferry
October 5: New Zealand's Strait Shipping announced that it intends to add the 400-passenger roll-on, roll-off ferry MONTE STELLO to the Bluebridge Cook Strait Ferry service. The company already operates the SANTA REGINA on the route. With the new ship, expected in January 2006, the service will offer four return sailings between central Wellington and Picton each day. MONTE STELLO is currently on chartered in the Canary Islands.

Semester At Sea In Talks With UA
October 5: University of Arizona officials are discussing the possibility of the university becoming the academic sponsor of the Semester at Sea program, a study-abroad program that takes students around the world on a cruise ship while earning university credits. Semester at Sea, which was a part of the University of Pittsburgh for 24 years, is searching for another school to be its new academic sponsor. A decision should be made in the next 6 weeks. MV EXPLORER (ex OLYMPIC EXPLORER, OLYMPIA EXPLORER), acquired in June 2004 to replace the 48 year-old SS UNIVERSE EXPLORER, is the current floating campus for the program. The vessel is managed by V.Ships.

Campus FINNJET
October 4: As reported on Maritime Matters on September 16, Silja Line's FINNJET will serve as a temporary home to 1,500 displaced students and faculty members from Louisiana State University's medical, nursing and dental schools. The 1977-built ferry arrives from Finland October 5, and will tie up at the port of Baton Rouge on the Mississippi River. The university will provide shuttles from the ship to the various medical, nursing and dental classes that have relocated to the capital city. The US federal government will pay $16 million to lease the ship for the next six months until the New Orleans campuses reopen in 2006. Had FEMA not taken this unusual step LSU might have had to shut down.

Danube River Cruiser Burns
October 3: A fire on board 1968-built Romanian river cruiser OLTENITA near the town of Gabcikovo on the Danube in western Slovakia has been extinguished. Traffic on the Danube has been temporarily halted. The fire started during the night and resulted in the 100-meter vessel breaking up and partially sinking. Some 20 firefighters extinguished the blaze, which may have claimed the life a professional singer who worked on the ship. About 120 passengers from Belgium, Denmark and Norway were evacuated with no serious injuries. Police are investigating the cause of the fire.

Ship Cams Page Updated
October 3: Maritime Matters has updated the SHIP CAM PAGE. Click on the link for a list bridge cams mounted on major cruise ships around the world.

No Frills For LD Service
October 1: LD Lines (Louis Dreyfus Lines, headquartered in Paris) have announced a new cross-channel "no-frills" service. The daily service will depart from Portsmouth, UK at 2300, arriving the following morning in Le Havre, France at 0730. It will then sail from Le Havre at 1700, arriving back in Portsmouth at 2130. LD Lines will be operating the 1992-built NORMAN SPIRIT (ex PRINS FILIP, STENA ROYAL, AQUITAINE, PRIDE OF AQUITAINE) which will carry a combination of freight vehicles, cars, and 900 passengers. The 28,838 gt ferry will be operated under the Italian flag on the route from October 3.

Fifth Fincantieri Ship To Carnival Fleet
September 30: Carnival announced today that the fifth ship in it's contract with Italian builder Fincantieri will be allotted to its Carnival Cruise Lines brand. The unnamed 112,000-ton cruise ship is expected to enter service in spring 2008. The five-ship agreement with Fincantieri announced a year ago includes the 110,000 gt CARNIVAL FREEDOM for Carnival Cruise Lines, the 116,000 gt EMERALD PRINCESS for Princess Cruises, the 116,000 gt VENTURA for P&O Cruises and the QUEEN VICTORIA for Cunard Line. According to today's release, Carnival originally envisioned this latest ship for one its European brands, but believes there is demand for it in the North American market. The ship will house the largest children's playroom in the fleet -- a 5,500-square-foot area located midship. The midship pool, one of four on board, will be enclosed by two full decks of glass walls. The area will be covered with a two-deck-high retractable dome that can be closed to the weather. The ship will carry up to 3,006 passengers in 1,503 staterooms, 60 percent of which will offer an ocean view with 60 percent of those featuring private verandahs.

Amazon River Tragedy
September 30: An unnamed Amazon river passenger ship collided with two barges and then sank, killing at least eight people with many still missing. The vessel reportedly hit the barges late last night as it was sailing on a remote stretch of the Amazon toward the jungle city of Manaus (1,680 miles north-west of Sao Paulo). The riverboat was carrying about 60 people and 26 were missing. The Brazilian navy had sent patrol boats and helicopters at daybreak to search for survivors.

Free Nuke?
September 30: The first and only nuclear powered passenger ship, NS SAVANNAH, a beautifully streamlined masterpiece conceived in the 1950s as part of President Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace" program, is being offered through the United States Maritime Administration's Ship Donation Program. A guided tour was given to interested parties on September 27th at the James River Reserve Fleet. Some background: NS SAVANNAH was designed, constructed and operated as a joint research and development project of the Maritime Administration and the Atomic Energy Commission. SAVANNAH was operated in experimental and commercial demonstration service throughout the 1960s. She was taken out of service in 1970 and the reactor was defueled, while the ship was partially decommissioned and prepared for long-term lay-up. From 1981 to 1994, she was chartered to the Patriot's Point Development Authority in Charleston, SC as an exhibit ship. The charter ended in 1994 and the ship was placed in MARAD's James River Reserve Fleet where she remains in lay-up. MARAD has no plans to dispose of the ship. Following the reactor decommissioning, it intends to make the SAVANNAH available for preservation through its Ship Donation Program, preferably through a MARAD sponsored public-private joint venture. The SAVANNAH is a registered National Historic Landmark.

Gulf Ships Shuffle
September 29: FEMA-chartered ships SENSATION and ECSTASY are back in New Orleans, housing emergency responders after a dash to Mobile, AL to avoid Hurricane Rita. HOLIDAY is expected to relocate from Mobile to Pascagoula, MI and will house at least 500 Jackson County residents who have lost their homes. Meanwhile, just west of Chalmette, in New Orleans, the fourth FEMA-chartered ship, SCOTIA PRINCE (ex STENA OLYMPICA) is home to 440 police, firefighters and emergency workers. The 7125 gt, 1972-built SCOTIA PRINCE is tied up at Dock #1 on the Channel Slip off the Mississippi River. Cruise ship operators have adjusted schedules as New Orleans port remains unworkable for an influx of cruise passengers. RCI's GRANDEUR OF THE SEAS will be relocated from New Orleans to homeport in Tampa, Fl for the winter. NCL's NORWEGIAN SUN will sail on her Panama Canal voyage from Los Angeles, September 30th, ending the voyage in Houston, TX rather than New Orleans, as previously scheduled.

Corsican Ferry Hijacked
September 28: Five French troop transport helicopters swooped upon the SNCM ferry PASCAL PAOLI as it attempted to enter the port of Bastia on the Mediterranean island of Corsica. Black-clad commandos rappeled onto the deck of the ferry. The 2003-built vessel had been taken over yesterday in the mainland French port of Marseilles amid rioting by ferry workers. About 30 unarmed men from the Union of Corsican Workers (STC), believed to be close to a Corsican independence movement, had overpowered the 40-strong crew of the 594-passenger ferry PASCAL PAOLI, which had been docked with no passengers on board. The assault by French troops followed two days of violence over the sale of the debt-ridden National Corsica Mediterranean Company (SNCM) to a French investment group, with clashes earlier between police and supporters of the striking ferry workers. The unrest broke out Monday night in Marseilles. Riot police had intervened with tear-gas to clear port entrance gates after groups of masked men set fire to pallets and set up barricades.

First Dry Docking For QUEEN MARY 2
September 28: Cunard's QUEEN MARY 2 will be dry-docked for the first time since her maiden voyage in 2003. Blohm + Voss Repair GmbH of Hamburg won the contract for maintenance and repair work. QUEEN MARY 2 is expected November 8 at drydock Elbe 17. Classification work and painting work will be carried out in the dock. The propulsion units, anchor winches and the four stabilizers will all be overhauled. The liner is expected to leave Hamburg on November 19.

Estonian Ferry Grounding
September 28: The Estonian passenger ferry MS REGINA BALTICA (ex ANNA K, ANNA KARENINA, BALTICA, BRAEMAR, VIKING SONG) ran aground at 9:40PM September 27th, in a well-charted stretch of the Baltic Sea between Stockholm and Tallinn. The ferry managed to free itself by 1 AM this morning and arrived safely at Kappelsk�r, outside of Stockholm at about 2:30 AM. No one was injured in the grounding. Passengers were given the option of taking another ferry on to Tallinn, Estonia or returning to Stockholm. Rescue ships attended the ferry throughout the incident. The accident happened on the 11th anniversary of one of Europe's worst maritime disasters; the sinking of the ESTONIA on September 28, 1994, killing 852 of 989 people aboard. The 1980-built REGINA BALTICA was brought in to replace the lost ferry and some of her crew were survivors from the ESTONIA. Officials believe the accident was caused by a power failure due to engine trouble, which in turn paralyzed the vessel's steering systems.

Persian Gulf Island Builds New Ship
September 28: Reports from the Gulf mention the first "ocean-going cruise ship in Iran and the Middle East" as under construction on the Iranian island of Qeshm. Switzerland has ordered the 108 foot (33-meter), Dutch designed ship with three decks capable of hosting three or four families. Delivery is expected in one year. The shipyard is located at Qeshm Free Trade Zone in the Persian Gulf. Parts for the vessel are imported and investors of the design firm, Fulton Yanz, are Iranian and Swiss, while the company has been registered in Britain.

QUEEN ELIZABETH Anniversary Article
September 27: To celebrate the QUEEN ELIZABETH's launching 67 years ago today, Maritimematters asked maritime writer Gordon Ghareeb to cover a little documented phase of her life, that of her retirement in Florida. Click here for the article THIS NOBLE SHIP - the ELIZABETH in Florida by Gordon R. Ghareeb.

Star Rises In India
September 27: Star Cruises completed their transformation of NCL's former NORWEGIAN SEA (ex SEAWARD). As the renamed SUPERSTAR LIBRA, the ship arrived in Mumbai, India on September 25, 2005 to a colourful fanfare of music followed by a special Hindu blessing and welcome ceremony at the pier and later an auspicious lighting of lamps ceremony on board. The arrival was witnessed by a host of government and state dignitaries, port authorities, members of the media and the travel trade. The 1988-built SUPERSTAR LIBRA spent 3 weeks in dry-dock in Singapore in preparation for her new role as an India-based cruise ship. Guest of Honour, Mr TG Renge Patil, Member of Parliament, performed the ribbon cutting ceremony to officially declare SUPERSTAR LIBRA's arrival in Mumbai. Her arrival signifies Star Cruises' first India-based cruise ship. The 42,000 gt SUPERSTAR LIBRA will sail on a several one-night introductory cruises. >From October 2 until April 2006, she will commence regular 4-night cruises to Kadmat (Lakshadweep) and Goa, 2-night cruises to Goa and 1-night weekend getaway cruises.

Cold Water Liner Ordered
September 27: The Norwegian shipping company OVDS signed a contract with the Italian shipyard Fincantieri September 15 for a new cruise ship to be delivered in April 2007. The newbuild will be 360 ft (110 metres) in length, with a beam of 67 ft (20 metres), have eight decks with 140 cabins, 348 berths and a total capacity of 500 passengers. The contract is worth US$82.7 million and the new vessel is designed for cruises to Greenland in summer, and will be sailing the Hurtigruten route in Norway during the winter.

Disposal Contracts Awarded, Reserve Fleet Thinned
September 26: Reports have MARAD, the US Maritime Administration, announcing a new round of disposal contracts for obsolete ships in its National Defense Reserve Fleet. Two ships from Suisun Bay near San Francisco will be broken up in Texas. CONNECTICUT, a 1958-built tanker, was awarded to International Shipbreaking of Brownsville, TX and NEMASKET, a 1942-built tanker, awarded to ESCO Marine of Brownsville, TX. Two ships from the James River Reserve Fleet in Virginia were also awarded to scrappers, the SANTA LUCIA, a 1966-built cargo ship, will be towed to Marine Metals in Brownsville, TX and the 1946-built tanker PAWCATUCK was awarded to Bay Bridge Enterprises of Chesapeake, VA. MARAD maintains the National Defense Reserve Fleet at three anchorage sites for national defense and national emergencies. When ships are no longer considered viable, MARAD arranges for their disposal.

Carnival in 06
September 26: Carnival Cruise Lines announced changes for 2006. After a refit, SENSATION will inaugurate a year-round program of four and five-day cruises from Port Canaveral beginning March 23, 2006. ELATION will continue this program after October 23, 2006 and will offer a new seven-day cruise program from Miami until October 15, 2006. ECSTASY will resume four- and five-day Caribbean cruises from Galveston, Texas following a refit after her charter for post Hurricane Katrina housing in New Orleans. CARNIVAL CONQUEST will also be based in Galveston, offering seven-day western Caribbean cruises. HOLIDAY will return to Mobile, AL, operating year-round four and five-day Caribbean cruises after a dry-docking. SENSATION will resume four and five-day cruises from New Orleans beginning October 26, 2006, on the program she operated prior to government charter.

ARTSHIP In The News
September 25: US Coast Guard officials are investigating the cause of the sinking of a barge moored to the ARTSHIP (ex DELORLEANS, USS CRESCENT CITY, GOLDEN BEAR) in Vallejo, CA. The barge had functioned as a huge fender between the ship and the pier allowing the ARTSHIP to moor in deeper water. The barge began to sink September 14th, and the 1940-built ARTSHIP was seen listing, either sitting on the barge or the floor of the strait. Two tugboats moved the ARTSHIP September 16th to a new location at Mare Island's Berth 10 about 7:30PM in an ongoing effort to recover the barge and limit diesel fuel spill. A containment boom was set up to control the fuel, which was described as "minimal". Meanwhile, the owner of ARTSHIP, a Brownsville, Texas firm, Sanship, said she may now be sold to an historical group or scrapped. Sanship would be responsible for the cost of recovering the barge and cleaning up the spill. The Artship Foundation, a Bay Area nonprofit organization, gained control of the ship in 1999 when she was transferred from the "mothball fleet" in Suisuin Bay. The foundation moored the ship at the Port of Oakland's Ninth Avenue Terminal, planning to turn her into an art and community center. In 2003, the Port of Oakland revicted ARTSHIP and the foundation was forced to sign the ship over to the port, which then sold her to Sanship.

FAITHFUL Under Tow
September 24: MV FAITHFUL / XANADU 2 (ex WAPPEN VON HAMBURG, DELOS, PACIFIC STAR, POLAR STAR, XANADU, EXPEX) is scheduled to arrive in Alameda today after being towed from Los Angeles, where she had been laid up for over 20 years. Towed by tug CAPTAIN RENO she is headed for rebuilding into a luxury yacht.

Click on SHIPPING NEWS Photos page on Maritime Matters for photos taken by�Bill Cox aboard Martin Curtin's tug. The project management team were Barry Bates and Bill Cox, with Ron Greger, the tow master in the lead tug. FAITHFUL was reported as being "very easy to tow and should reach San Francisco Golden Gate midday Friday". Click here for Peter Knego's tour MV FAITHFUL / XANADU 2.

ORIANA To Brooklyn
September 23: The Red Hook cruise ship terminal, Brooklyn, New York, (which will not be completed for months), will be host to a visit from P&O Line's ORIANA at 7AM tomorrow. Pier 12 off Pioneer Street, Brooklyn rather than the mid-town cruise ship terminal on Manhattan's West side was a surprise choice to many. ORIANA, arriving from Southampton, will be met by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Borough President Marty Markowitz for welcoming remarks to specially invited guests likely intended as a public relations boost for efforts to build a $45 million cruise ship terminal at Pier 12. If built, the terminal is expected to accommodate Carnival Corportation ships and Norwegian Cruise Line vessels next Spring. Last year, New York City's over-booked piers lost Royal Caribbean Cruise Line to Bayonne, New Jersey.

New Orleans Ships Skip Second Storm
September 22: The two Carnival vessels leased by FEMA for hurricane housing sailed from New Orleans, Louisiana, this afternoon heading for safety at Mobile, Alabama until Hurricane Rita makes landfall on the Gulf Coast. ECSTASY and SENSATION had been moored in New Orleans as part of the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, housing emergency service personnel. Relief workers will not sail with the ships, which are expected to return to New Orleans on September 24 or 25th. Carnival's HOLIDAY, home to about 275 evacuees from Mississippi, is expected to relocate from Mobile to Pascagoula, Miss., once port repairs are completed.

P&O's Next Mega-Ship
September 21: Carnival Corporation today said that it had assigned the newbuild slot for the previously ordered 116,000-ton cruise ship to UK-based P&O Cruises. The name CANBERRA was rumoured to have been considered in some maritime circles, however VENTURA was announced as the new name. The 3,100-passenger ship will be the largest cruise ship specifically built for British cruise service and is part of a five-ship agreement that Carnival signed with the shipyard Fincantieri in September 2004. Included in that agreement are the new 110,000-ton CARNIVAL FREEDOM for Carnival Cruise Lines, the 116,000-ton EMERALD PRINCESS for Princess Cruises, a 110,000-ton ship that remains unassigned to a particular Carnival brand, plus a redesign of Cunard Line's previously ordered QUEEN VICTORIA.

FAITHFUL Under Tow
September 20: After a few false starts, MV FAITHFUL / XANADU 2 (ex WAPPEN VON HAMBURG, DELOS, PACIFIC STAR, POLAR STAR, XANADU, EXPEX) departed Terminal Island, Los Angeles today, towed away from the slip in the early morning by tug CAPTAIN RENO. FAITHFUL is expected to arrive September 23 in Alameda, CA for rebuilding into a luxury yacht.

CARIBBEAN MERCY In Katrina Effort
September 19: Mercy Ships 1953-built CARIBBEAN MERCY (ex POLARLYS) was docked in Mobile, Alabama when the Hurricane Katrina struck. The ship usually serves the poor and needy in Central America and the Caribbean, but is now functioning as a command center and housing for relief teams.

From GRAND LATINO to Great British Queen
September 19: In January 2005, it was announced that Spanish operator Iberojet had sold GRAND LATINO (ex ROYAL VIKING SKY, SUNWARD, BIRKA QUEEN (2), SUNWARD, GOLDEN PRINCESS (1), SUPERSTAR CAPRICORN, HYUNDAI KEUMGANG, SUPERSTAR CAPRICORN) to Fred Olsen Cruises who planned to rename the ship BOADICEA but later settled on BOUDICCA. As GRAND LATINO, the ship continued her Mediterranean itineraries throughout 2005. Between�October 2005 and February 2006, she will undergo a major refit, including the creation of several dedicated single cabins in keeping with the company's tradition. The public rooms will be redesigned to be match the rest of the Fred Olsen fleet, reflecting an English historical theme in both the decor and artwork on board. She will have 450 cabins with a total occupancy of approximately 850 berths. Her inaugural cruise from Dover, UK is expected to depart on February 23, 2006.

Awaiting the FAITHFUL
September 16:� The MV FAITHFUL / XANADU 2 (ex WAPPEN VON HAMBURG, DELOS, PACIFIC STAR, POLAR STAR, XANADU, EXPEX) was due to depart Los Angeles at noon today under tow to Alameda (near San Francisco) for a complete rebuilding into a luxury yacht. However, at 7:00 PM as the sun set over the Terminal Island shipyard that has been her home for several years, the ship and her small tug were still tied up at the quayside. When she reaches Alameda, there will be a fourteen month period of wet and drydocking involving the removal of her current fittings, sandblasting, steel repairs, hull tests (and plate replacement if and where needed), the installation of new engines and navigation equipment, and the addition of new accommodations. Thankfully, her new owners are seeing that her perfectly proportioned classic profile is not to be altered.

More Passenger Ships For New Orleans
September 16: Louisiana State University's faculty of medicine has chartered Silja Line's 1977-built ferry FINNJET to serve at the Hurricane Katrina disaster zone for six months with a renewable option. The faculty needs the vessel urgently to make up for the facilities devastated by the hurricane. The 24,605 grt FINNJET is 704 feet long, has 499 cabins and can carry 1,800 passengers. FINNJET will sail from Finland September 20 and she is expected to arrive at the US Gulf Coast by October 2. The ship normally operates between Rostock, Tallinn, and St Petersburg. FINNJET will be anchored on the the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge, about 100 miles upstream from New Orleans. The same ship was previously used as static accommodation in Riga, Latvia, when President George W Bush made a visit to the country.

Costa Names New Ship In Genoa
September 16: Commemorating the laying of the first block of the latest cruise ship at the Fincantieri shipyard in Sestri Ponente, Italy, Costa Crociere has announced the name COSTA SERENA. The common platform newbuild (based on parent company Carnival Cruise Line's CARNIVAL CONQUEST blueprint) is due for delivery in May 2007. The block, which is approximately 55 ft long, 72 ft wide, and weighs around 500 tons, forms part of the COSTA SERENA's aft section. Her older sister, COSTA CONCORDIA, is also under construction at the same yard and should be delivered July 2006. They will be the largest Italian cruise vessels to date, at 112,000 gt, 951 ft long, with 1,500 cabins and total passenger capacity of 3,780.

ST. TROPEZ Auctioned
September 14: The 1975-built casino cruise ship ST. TROPEZ, (ex CASTALIA, SCANDIVANIA SAGA, PRIDE OF SAN DIEGO, TROPIC STAR II, EMERALD EMPRESS, SOFIA, ENCHANTED SUN, TALISMAN, MANISTAL) which ceased trading in May and has been anchored off Fort Lauderdale with occasional visits to Port Everglades since mid-June, was auctioned yesterday in the lobby of the Broward County Courthouse, Florida, fetching US$3.8 million. The ship was ordered sold at the courthouse to satisfy creditors. 26 crew remained on board while the auction was arranged, while the rest of the crew of about 140 were flown home to various foreign countries. Daniel Chui, a managing director of V. Ships Group, was the reported high bidder, but declined to comment. V. Ships, best known for its marine and technical ship operations, has a division that buys, sells and charters ships on behalf of their clients. It was speculated the ST. TROPEZ could be profitably repositioned to the New Orleans area, where the recent hurricane destroyed most of the floating casinos.

West Coast, Pacific Traffic Soars
September 14: New U.S. Maritime Administration figures show that cruise traffic through California ports has grown 80 percent in the last two years. Los Angeles accounted for almost half of the traffic through California ports, up 62 percent in the first half of 2005 from the previous year. 89 percent of passengers departing from Los Angeles cruised to Mexico. In Hawaii, the U.S.-registered PRIDE OF ALOHA contributed to a 41 percent increase in cruise traffic from Honolulu, this figure is expected to rise with the recent introduction of the new PRIDE OF AMERICA.

VENUS In Korea
September 13: As reported below (see September 4), Osaka-based Japan Cruise Line sold the 1990-built ORIENT VENUS. Currently at the IHI Amtec shipyard, Japan the ship is expected to sail to South Korea for her refit under the temporary name CRUISE ONE on September 14.

Accommodation Ships Arrive in New Orleans
September 12: Carnival Cruise Line's ECSTASY tied up at the Riverwalk in New Orleans today while police officers and their families took up new temporary quarters on board. It was reported that 70% of the remaining police force are homeless at present. Carnival's SENSATION also docked today. She is further east along the New Orleans wharf and will be home for firefighters and emergency medical services personnel, starting tomorrow. The two 2,600 passenger cruise ships join the USS IWO JIMA, a U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship that arrived in New Orleans on September 5 to support rescue helicopter missions into the city. The 1991-built ECSTASY and 1993-built SENSATION were chartered by the US Government for six months to provide shelter to evacuees following Hurricane Katrina. Both were moored at Galveston, Texas, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency dropped the plan after displaced residents did not want to move again or risk not finding relatives, jobs or schools. Others cited a fear of being near water.

WINDSOR CASTLE Tour on Maritime Matters
September 11: While RITA, the former RMS WINDSOR CASTLE, is being cut up on the beach of Alang, India, we have reopened Peter Knego's 1998 tour of this ship with 22 enlarged interior photos taken when she was anchored off Petrola, Greece. Click here to visit the WINDSOR CASTLE page on Maritime Matters.

Louis And Easy
September 11: Louis Cruise line, Cypriot stalwarts of the Mediterranean cruise industry, have announced an agreement with easyCruise to consult on future expansion of the fledging low-cost line founded by Stelios Haji-Ioannou. The agreement covers an initial six month period during which Louis would assist easyCruise in evaluating additional cruise ships, both new and used. Stelios Haji-Ioannou was reported to be planning at least one new build. He hopes to construct a new no frills ship for around 60 per cent of the cost currently projected for new ships.

EasyCruise is one of the latest ventures under the 'easy' brand, which includes easyJet, easyCinema, easyMoney, etc. with the aim of offering a unique holiday experience to independently minded travellers in the 20s -- 40s age group.

This summer, easyCruise's first ship, EASYCRUISEONE (ex RENAISSANCE TWO, NEPTUNE) was based on the French and Italian Rivieras. In the winter 2005/06, EASYCRUISEONE will sail to Barbados and surrounding Caribbean islands. Unlike traditional cruises, the easyCruise ship remains in port for the evening to let passengers enjoy the night life ashore and then sails late at night for the next port. The unusually flexible week long itineraries allow travellers to embark and disembark at�any port on the route, provided they stay on board at least two nights.

Greece Offers Cruise Ship For New Orleans Aid
September 10: The Greek government has chartered the cruise ship OCEAN MONARCH (ex PORT SYDNEY, AKROTIRI EXPRESS, DAPHNE, SWITZERLAND, OCEAN ODYSSEY) from Majestic International Cruises to help survivors of Hurricane Katrina. A second ship has been offered, but both will be subject to US Coast Guard approval. The 1955-built OCEAN MONARCH can accommodate over 500 passengers. The minimal charter rate will reportedly cover only the operating costs of the vessel. The ship finishes its current cruise on September 25, after which it will head for New Orleans. This same vessel was offered by Greece and stationed in Sri Lanka for relief efforts for Tsunami survivors in February this year.

Canadian Ships Aid US Effort
September 9: Three Canadian warships (the destroyer HMCS ATHABASKAN, and frigates HMCS VILLE DE QUEBEC and HMCS TORONTO) and the Canadian Coast Guard ship SIR WILLIAM ALEXANDER left Halifax, Nova Scotia on September 6 packed with relief supplies and three Sea King helicopters to deliver them. About 1,000 Canadian Forces personnel will be ready for a variety of tasks. The ships are expected to arrive off the U.S. Gulf Coast early next week, although they may have to duck into port or head further out into the Atlantic to avoid Tropical Storm Ophelia, which is gathering strength off Florida. Those monitoring the storm, which is moving slowly and erratically, predict it will move to the east away from the coast, while others think it may head west, closer to shore. Ophelia, the 15th named storm of the season, was almost stationary and centred 135 kilometres east-northeast of Cape Canaveral at noon September 7.

SS ORIANA Demo In Situ
September 8: The latest word from Chinese sources is that the damaged 1960 built 42,000 gt SS ORIANA, following removal of her interior fittings, is undergoing complete demolition at the�Zhangjiagang shipyard and will not be continuing onward to Alang for final scrapping, after all.

MARAD Reserve Ships Prepared For Hurricane Relief
September 7: MARAD (U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration) announced that seven ships from the National Defense Reserve Fleet have been selected to serve in the recovery efforts following Hurricane Katrina. Three state maritime academy training ships will provide housing for port and petroleum industry workers, and four specialized Ready Reserve Force ships will offer specialized capabilities to aid the area's economic recovery. The Ready Reserve Force ship WRIGHT (a helicopter repair ship) will sail to New Orleans from Baltimore, Maryland. The crane ship DIAMOND STATE and CAPE FLATTERY (which can carry 85 barges or 1600 containers) will both sail from Orange, Texas. EQUALITY STATE has been activated by the Department of Defense, and is enroute from Beaumont, Texas. The training ships STATE OF MAINE, EMPIRE STATE and SIRIUS are all being provisioned and are expected in New Orleans by September 14. The Ready Reserve Force is a fleet of ships that have frequently been activated to help in recovery efforts from disasters overseas, but this is the first time they have been called to assist in recovery from a US disaster. All RRF ships are crewed by U.S. civilian merchant mariners. The CAPE KENNEDY and one other Ready Reserve Force vessel are homeported in New Orleans and have remained throughout the crisis.

FEMA's Cruise Ship Shelter Plan Shelved
September 6: Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) plan to relocate evacuees from the Houston Astrodome and other shelters to cruise ships has been dropped. Displaced residents simply do not want to move again. Also, evacuees did not want to risk not finding relatives, jobs and being near schools. Some also cited a fear of being near water again in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The government is now considering sending the ships to other ports or possibly using the ships for relief workers. Carnival's ECSTASY, SENSATION and HOLIDAY have been leased for six months at a total cost of $192 million. Carnival spokeswoman Jennifer de la Cruz was reported in the press as saying that "Carnival will not make a profit by leasing its ships to FEMA".

PACIFIC SKY Meets Pacific Reef
September 5: Three tugs freed the Australian-based cruise vessel PACIFIC SKY (ex FAIRSKY, SKY PRINCESS) after she grounded on a reef in New Caledonia this past weekend. The 38,876 gt 1984 built ship did not suffer any significant damage aside from coral wedged in one of her propeller shafts. She was to continue onwards to her next port of call, Vanuatu, this evening with 1,100 passengers and 600 crew on board. A team of Australian Lloyd's List insurers is also on board conducting further inspections.

International help by Sea
September 5: Canada is preparing three navy ships to assist in New Orleans, if called upon. The vessels are being packed with relief supplies and emergency equipment in case the United States calls for help to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. A destroyer and two frigates in Halifax, Canada would be in a position to sail September 6 or 7. They will have transformers, divers, small boats and helicopters on board. No request has been made by the US thus far, however. The Dutch guided missile frigate Hr Ms VAN AMSTEL departed from Cura�ao bound for New Orleans to assist the operation. A second US Navy hospital ship, the USNS MERCY, which is based in San Diego, California will be ready to depart September 6 and will take about two weeks to reach the region.

ORIENT VENUS Sold
September 4: Osaka-based Japan Cruise Line has sold its laid up 1990-built ORIENT VENUS to unidentified European interests for approximately US$20m. The new owners are reported to be a group of investors with proposed use for the ship in the European charter market from May 2006. ORIENT VENUS been laid up at Aioi, near Kobe, Japan since mid-2002, when she was pulled from service because of low bookings. The 21,900-gt vessel has reportedly entered the IHI Amtec shipyard, Japan for refitting prior to her delivery. The estimated US$20m work will increase the ship's lower-berth capacity of 400 to about 520.

US Coast Guard Reports On Post Katrina Traffic
September 4: US Coast Guard reports that eighty-six ships are caught in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, awaiting transit to or through the Port of New Orleans. All bridges, floodgates, and locks in the New Orleans area remain closed. The USCG has set up a web site where people who are still in need of rescue, or for those who know of someone in need, can submit information at http://homeport.uscg.mil.More than 2,580 people have been rescued from rooftops and flooded neighbourhoods since operations began Monday. Surveys of the damage to the waterways are now underway. USCG reports that the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway in Louisiana, Red River, Atchafalya, and Ouatchita Rivers has been opened in some areas. More than 100 barges have reportedly sunk or are aground south of New Orleans and the majority of buoys and other kinds of navigational markers are off station throughout the Gulf Coast. Ports of New Orleans, Gulfport, Pascagoula, and Destin/Panama City are closed. The ports of Pensacola and Mobile are open only to vessels with a 12-foot draft or less. The Intracoastal Waterway is open from the Mobile Ship Channel east to Apalachicola, Florida. and closed from the Mobile Ship Channel west to Pass Christian, Mississippi. The Mississippi River is closed to deep draft traffic and open to tug and barge traffic only from Sea Buoy to Mile Marker 507. Deep draft vessels may move within anchorages if they have pilots on board. The Red River is open from Carr Point, Louisiana. to Alexandria, Louisiana. The Athchafalya River is open from Eugene Island Sea Buoy to Krotz Springs. The Port Allen Route is open from Baton Rouge to the Port Allen Lock. The Ouachita/Black River is open from Jonesville to Shreveport. The railroad Bridge across Delcambre Canal is open. Vessels may transit Louisiana Highway in Delcambre.

Port Canaveral Gets MAGIC Back
September 3: DISNEY MAGIC returned home to Port Canaveral, Florida on September 3, from her first journey to the US West Coast, completing a summer-long schedule of voyages to the Mexican Riviera in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Disneyland with 12 consecutive voyages from the Port of Los Angeles over the summer and two 14-night trans-canal voyages. On October 1, the DISNEY MAGIC is due at Norshipco shipyard in Norfolk, Virginia for a two-week dry docking. Disney Cruise Line will expand its Vista Spa and Salon with three indoor/outdoor spa treatment suites. Each suite will feature an indoor spa treatment room that is connected to a private outdoor verandah -- complete with personal hot tub, open air shower and a luxurious chaise lounge. Three conference rooms on deck 2 will become a new hang-out for kids called Ocean Quest, featuring a scaled replica of the ship's bridge with simulation games that will allow children to steer a cruise ship in and out of ports around the world. Additionally, a poolside 24-by-14-foot LED screen on deck 9 will be attached to the forward funnel.

Yangtze River Cruiser Sinks
September 3: Reports have come in that a luxury Yangtze River boat GALAXY No.2 has sunk. The vessel ran aground September 1, while carrying 163 passenger and crew. Although reports are unclear, it appears all were rescued before the ship broke in two on September 3.

Cruise Ships To Provide Shelter
September 3: Carnival announced today that the 1991-built ECSTASY, 1993-built SENSATION and 1985-built HOLIDAY will be put into service for six months to provide relief for the thousands made homeless by Hurricane Katrina, the worst natural disaster in U.S. history. Initial plans are for ECSTASY and SENSATION (both Fantasy-class series ships with a total passenger capacity of 2,606 each ) to be docked in Galveston while the smaller HOLIDAY (with a total passenger capacity of 1,800) will remain at Mobile. Carnival shipboard employees will be staffing the three chartered ships. Additionally, the car-ferry SCOTIA PRINCE has been added to the line up.

US Jones Act Waived
September 2: President Bush instructed Secretary of Homeland Security Chertoff to temporarily waive the requirement that oil and gasoline be transported from one U.S. port to another via U.S. -flagged ships. How long the Jones Act will remain suspended remains to be seen, however, this moves does not affect passenger shipping (which is governed by the Passenger Shipping Act of 1886).

Delta Boats Safe From Katrina
September 3: All three Delta Queen Steamboat Co.'s vessels are safe in the more northerly waters of the Mississippi. While the offices remain intact in New Orleans, the company evacuated staff before Hurricane Katrina hit. A temporary technical headquarters was set up in Memphis, TN, while reservations staff are working from Delta's parent company, Delaware-North, in Buffalo, NY. The AMERICAN QUEEN is operating a revised schedule, while DELTA QUEEN and MISSISIPPI QUEEN continue their planned river itineraries.

New Orleans Port Damage Assessment
September 3: The Port of New Orleans,�ranks fifth in the country for cruise ship traffic and 75 ocean carriers normally call at the port, which is a distribution hub for products and commodities such as grain, steel, petrochemicals, rubber, plywood, and coffee. According to US Customs the port�handled some 134,000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units)�and averaged about 830 vessel calls per month in 2004.

Members of the port's staff made an initial damage assessment. "The outcome is not good", said Gary LaGrange, port's president and CEO, but added "eventually we will bounce back bigger and better than ever".

A summary damage update for the Port of New Orleans follows: The Henry Clay Wharf sustained heavy damage but remained dry, with draft alongside ranging from 36 feet to 38 feet. The Fantuzzi mobile harbor crane appeared in good condition, with draft alongside the wharf over 39 feet. The Napoleon Container Terminal (NCT), has many damaged containers and some flooding. All four port gantry cranes are intact, though two newer cranes have damage to their computer systems. Draft at the NCT measured between 46 feet to 51 feet. The Napoleon C Wharf and Milan Street Wharf suffered heavy damage, but the Louisiana Street Wharf's shed had only roof damage. The roof and roller doors at the 1st Street Wharf's were heavily damaged as were the Jackson Street Ferry Landing. The Bollinger Drydock drifted from its mooring on the west bank of the Mississippi River, narrowly missed the Crescent City Connection Bridge and slammed in to the Erato Street Wharf. The drydock came to rest on the west bank across from the Robin Street Wharf. The Julia Street Cruise Terminal lost roof sections but with windows intact. The new passenger jet way appears undamaged. The Governor Nicholas Street Wharf's transit shed sustained moderate damage to its side panels and roller doors, while the Esplande Street Wharf shed suffered heavy damage to its siding and the roof. At Pauline Street Wharf a bulk carrier had drifted and collided with the Cooper Tug barge. The Poland Street Wharf and Alabo Street Wharf's shed sustained moderate damage. Flooding prevented an assessment of the the France Road and Jourdan Street Wharfs.

The main problems facing the port's ability to handle cargo are locating labor to work the vessels; the damage to highway connectors preventing distribution of cargoes; and the safe navigation of the Mississippi River following the storm. In regard to cruise operations, with the Louis Armstrong Airport underwater and damage to local hotels it will take time to bring back online.

Three Crew Killed on MONARCH ON THE SEAS
September 2: Three crew members were tragically killed on board Royal Caribbean's MONARCH OF THE SEAS in the Port of Los Angeles by toxic sewer gas today. The three men were replacing a section of waste pipe on the ship, which had just returned from a four night cruise. Nineteen other crew were examined for exposure and of those ten were affected by the fumes. Passengers disembarking from the vessel were not affected. The gas was identified as hydrogen sulfide, which occurs in sewage, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The Coast Guard said the repair crew could have worn special masks though they usually are not required for such operations. Update: The dead crew members were identified as Boris Dimitrov, 47, of Varna, Bulgaria; Willie Tirol, 41, of Pangasinan, Philippines; and Radomilja Frane, 48, of Stobrec, Croatia.

Waterbourn!
September 1: Ireland's press reports that the 1988-built Carnival Cruise Line's Seabourn Cruise Line subsidiary's SEABOURN PRIDE has been detained at Waterford after Marine Inspectors found a string of safety violations. Around 170 passengers were told they would have to remain in the city until the engine room was cleaned and several fire risks removed. SEABOURN PRIDE is enroute from the United Kingdom via Waterford, Ireland to the east coast of the United States.

Government Looks At Cruise Ship Shelters
September 1: Cruise industry officials report receiving an exploratory inquiry through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, (the entity responsible for health inspections of ships), to consider housing storm victims on cruise ships. The humanitarian crisis in New Orleans has intensified, while many routes into the city remained under water. A large cruise ship could house 2,000 - 3,000 people. Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean Cruises both operate ships from New Orleans.

Among the complicated issues of such an effort, safety of navigating the Mississippi River after the storm would require a survey of the channel by the Army Corps of Engineers to assure safe passage for ships on the river. the storm has moved navigational buoys and large objects maybe below the surface. Silt also presents challenges. Currently, only tugs and barges are cleared for operation on the river by the Coast Guard.

Carnival said it is actively looking at the feasibility of using one of its ships for relief and said it intends to work with federal officials. The line operates two ships from New Orleans, CONQUEST and SENSATION. There is no discussion yet about how or whether the cruise lines would be compensated for such a plan.

Click here for SHIPPING NEWS from June - August 2005

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